The first week of my summer vacation is wrapping up and I must say it was a most deserved, productive and relaxed one! While teachers are never truly “off”, when there is some down time it is heartily welcomed. For the sake of brevity and (some) organization I’ll go over the highlights of the week below.
Networking.
This week has taught me so much in the art of networking and really promoting yourself. Of course during the school year, I haven’t had nearly as much time as I would have liked to bring awareness to my projects. A simple post on Facebook, a Tweet or two here or there and that was the extent of it this school year. However, given that I have way more free time I have been able to do way more research!
Perhaps the most important tips I have picked up were to find like-minded individuals to connect and form relationships with, continue to make engaging content, and try to be as active as possible. So I joined a lot of Facebook groups, paid some attention to who my followers were following on Twitter, joined forums and gave meaningful comments and insights where I could. At one point, it almost felt like a full-time job! Although it is so worth it and as I keep up with my research and engagement I know it’ll only be a matter of time until I reach my goals of promotion and awareness!
Baking Adventures.
Among one of my more creative hobbies is baking! I love baking! Yet alas, as of late I haven’t had much time or motivation to indulge. So yesterday I may have gone a little overboard since I haven’t baked in a while and made three sweet treats! I would have made more but since one required using a can opener and life isn’t kind to lefties, I had to settle with three. There’s just something so cathartic about baking. It’s like making art with food.
So on the menu were blueberry muffins, cheesecake and oreo croissants. A weird combination, I know, but such fun and filled with love! I put on some Linkin Park and off I went into creating my delicacies. Those who know me can vouch for my baking skills and I think the pictures below can show how yummy they turned out. For the blueberry muffins I simply used the recipe on the box, and the cheesecake and oreo croissant recipes are hyperlinked here. I love baking too when it’s simple. There’s no need to buy twenty different ingredients when you can essentially get the same, yummy result with five (or less!).
A Tea Date with My Soulmate.
I have never been this huge lover of tea but within the past few months or so I have been coming around to its charm, in large part because of one of my teacher friend’s own love of tea. So today I decided to treat my husband (who also does some of the graphic design on this site like my logo!) to high tea at Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon here in New York City. Lady Mendl’s is a gorgeously quaint tea salon noted for its traditional high tea. The same teacher friend and coworker had taken me to this tea salon before but it was a new experience finally bringing my husband and a delightful one to say the least.
At Lady Mendl’s their five-course high tea is definitely one to experience. Our five-course today included split pea soup, an assortment of sandwiches, scones, 20 layer crepe cake and macaroons. In the pictures below you can catch a glimpse of our date and the yummy meal served! I would definitely recommend if you love tea, want something fun to do in the city or just want to try out the experience!
In all, it was a great week for me and one filled with some learning experiences and progress in my goals. I hope my highlights of the week have sparked some inspiration for you. Readers, how has your week gone? Suggestions or tips on continuing to make this summer the best yet, professionally or just for fun? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!
It’s nice to see you two enjoying the sights. This week, I’m going to be swamped with work but reading this made me inspired to have some free time for myself and enjoy the city.
New York has so much to offer so trying something new every once in a while is a must!
It looks like you had a really great first week of summer. The food looks great. I hope the rest of your summer goes really well. Have fun.
I did. Hopefully you find time for some relaxing and fun also!
I love baking too and seeing your macaroon picture, make me miss baking again! But all the food look delicious! Especially I have a sweet tooth and having those treats will surely great for the weekend.
They definitely were! Hopefully this post inspired you to try something new in the kitchen!
Wow this food looks so delicious! We love to bake too.
Baking is such a great hobby! I hope this post gave you ladies some inspiration to try out something new!
I find your list exciting! I love to try baking a lot, just that I think I need to have a partner to motivate and continue the practice. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Or hey, just try for the fun in it! I have always enjoyed baking since I was young and remember by introduction with my first Easy-Bake oven. Hopefully you find a recipe that sparks some inspiration really soon. Thanks for commenting!
Looks like you had a great week! The food looks good too! I wanna try the split pea soup! 🙂
It was delicious! Mind you, if you ever do visit, they change the offerings for the courses. Last time I went with my teacher-friend it was a different soup but still very much delicious and worth it!
I have been dying to go to an actual tea service like that! I need to find one to take my daughter to!
If you’re in the NYC area I definitely recommend that one or Alice’s Tea Cup! Both are great places to enjoy quality tea!
I love traditional tea. That sounds so fab! And I’m glad you are getting a break while being able to accomplish things and do what you enjoy. Have fun!
It is such a nice experience, isn’t it? Yes, I definitely have to make the most of my summer when I can. Thanks for reading!
looks like you had great time with your husband. All the dishes looks yummy. Keep baking.
We did! Thanks for reading!
All of the food looks delicious! It looks like you guys enjoyed yourselves, thanks for sharing!
We definitely did! Thanks for reading!
I love baking too, I have stopped it for a while now with my hectic work schedule, I think I should start again, will love to more about ur progress in baking 🙂
You should! Baking can be cathartic too with the stresses of work. I should do more of it during the school year! I have some ideas of recipes I want to try in the near future to expand on my repertoire so I look forward to more baking adventures as well. Thanks for reading!
Wow! Another great post and very informative. Gotta loved to learned new things for our self and the food it looks yummy and delicious.
Thank you so much for reading! And yes, we definitely do have to continue learning and growing. It also helps with great food along the way!
I can’t believe it is summer now and glad to know that you have something in mind as it inspired me too after reading your article. Your baking adventures look so much fun with variety of cakes been made.
It was fun! I’m looking forward to trying out some new recipes as well to expand my repertoire. I’m glad my post inspired something for you too!
All of the food looks delicious, seems like you had a great week and got to do some cool things!
~xo Sheree
poshclassymom.com
They definitely were and I did! Hope your week has been fabulous as well!